City clears the way for traffic-calming devices to be installed on 27th Street between Iowa and Louisiana

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Here’s a free tip for all those people looking for a new business venture in the future: An auto alignment shop — or maybe a muffler repair business — near the corner of 27th and Iowa streets.

It is beginning to look more likely that the busy stretch of 27th Street between Iowa and Louisiana streets may get a series of speed humps or other traffic-calming devices.

The city has agreed to add 27th Street to the list of areas in the city that are in need of traffic calming. Getting added to that list, however, doesn’t mean traffic-calming devices are going to be built on the street in the near future.

The city currently has 17 such areas on the list, and some have been on the list for years. The city basically says it will start building the projects as funding becomes available, and funding for traffic-calming projects has been a bit hit or miss in previous city budgets.

But David Woosley, the city’s traffic engineer, told city commissioners recently that the combination of traffic speed, volume and the number of pedestrians along 27th Street causes the stretch of road to rise to No. 1 on the city’s list of traffic-calming priorities.

So, it will be worth watching if funding develops. I would guess that the next time 27th Street gets repaved that the city strongly will consider adding speed humps as part of the repaving project. The city has found the traffic-calming work becomes cheaper if it can be incorporated with another project.

Traffic calming on 27th Street will be significant. The city is estimating that the one mile stretch of street will need about six traffic-calming devices in order to be effective. The city is estimating the cost of the project to be about $90,000.

City commissioners briefly discussed the traffic-calming request — which came from a leader of the Indian Hills Neighborhood Association — and approved the idea on a 5-0 vote.

I have a particular member of my household who uses that stretch of road to get to the shops on South Iowa Street from time to time to time to time. (You get the idea.) I’m sure speed humps would create some noise in my house. Perhaps not slower speeds, but noise — like the kind you hear when your muffler has been knocked off by a speed hump.

They should put one of those traffic cam things that show your speed and then take your picture if you're speeding. That would be beneficial in both that the people that obey the speed limit wouldn't have to slow down (to go over the proposed "speed humps") and then the city would generate extra money to waste on more art programs.

I don't think people quite understand what an arterial road is. Arterial roads are major thoroughfares and are usually the backbone of a city's traffic network. 6th, 23rd, Kasold, Iowa, Bob Billings, Massachusetts, Wakarusa, 31st are arterial roads. Collector roads are low traffic roads used to move local traffic to arterial roads. 9th, Lawrence Ave, Haskell, Louisiana, 27th, 19th are collector roads. And don't take my word for it, take the Traffic Engineering Handbooks's word for it.

Hopefully the humps aren't as big as the ones on Mass south of 23rd. I made the mistake of turning down there one time thinking I could get back to Louisiana and hit a rocker panel on one of the asphalt mountains.

I wouldn't mind a couple of those humps on my little street where everyone uses as a cut through and speeds down. Just today I pulled onto Mass Street out of Dillons I noticed a pickup in my rear mirror and could tell he was traveling too fast. I didn't pick up my speed, but was at the speed limit because I knew I was planning to turn right at the corner. I put on my signal and turned, but as I was turning the jerk blew his horn as if I was doing something wrong. I so hope he got a speeding ticket when he sped off in front of South Park.